Basketball National League
Basketball league
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The Basketball National League (BNL) is the pre-eminent male professional basketball league in South Africa. The league was founded in 2013, however, before the Premier Basketball League had been running as the country's premier basketball league.
| |
| Founded | 1993 (as Premier Basketball League) |
|---|---|
| First season | 1993–94 |
| Country | South Africa |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Current champions | KwaZulu Marlins (1st title) (2024) |
| Most championships | Egoli Magic (6 titles) |
| CEO | Albert Mokoena |
| TV partners | SuperSport |
| Website | bnlsa.com |
 2024 BNL season | |
The league also has a female counterpart, the Women's Basketball National League, which was established in 2021.[1]
Egoli Magic are the most successful club in league history, having won five championships.
History
PBL era
Founded in 1994 as the Premier Basketball League (PBL), the league was founded by six franchises. In an agreement with the national federation Basketball South Africa, the league began with four new teams, namely Capetown Eagles, Soweto Panthers, Capetown Kings and Pretoria Suns.[2]
The leaguge was sponsored by Allied Bank, and later by Telkom.[3] The PBL was disbanded in 1996.
The PBL disappeared for the following years, but made a return after nine years in 2007. The final of that season was won by the Soweto Panthers.[4]
BNL era
After a 14-year period without a national men's league, the Basketball National League (BNL) was founded in 2013. The Tshwane Suns won the inaugural BNL championship.[5]
The BNL Season of 2018 started in August, the 3rd and ended on October, the 27th. For the first time ever, the championship was won by the Soweto Panthers.
In 2016 the league piloted a women's division in Gauteng, The Sturdy Stars won the title that year.[6]
South Africa saw the official nationwide launch of the Women's Basketball National League (WBNL) in 2021, with the participating club expansion the W-Tshwane Suns won their first national championship on the 27 November 2021.[7]
Because of the scarcity of available basketball arenas, all games between 2013 and 2015 were played at Wembley Stadium in Stafford, Gauteng, City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, a former ice-rink which holds up to 3,000 visitors.[8]
The league expanded to 12 clubs in the 2023 season, when the Cape Town Tigers, joined the league. The Tigers had already played in two seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the continent's most important tournament. The Tigers won the league in their debut season, after going unbeaten.[9]
The defending champions Tigers withdrew for the sequential 2024 season because of budgetary constraints. Meanwhile, a promotion and relegation was introduced and last-ranked Eastern Cape Windbreakers were relegated, while MBB from the Inner City Super League (ICSL) joined the league.[10]
Current clubs
The league currently has 11 clubs:
| Team | Location | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egoli Magic | 1994 | ||
| Free State Warriors | Free State | 2012 | |
| KwaZulu Marlins | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal | 1994 | |
| Limpopo Pride | 2012 | ||
| MBB | 2012 | 2024 | |
| Mpumalanga Rhinos[a] | 2012 | ||
| Northern Cape Zebras[b] | 2012 | ||
| North West Eagles[c] | 2012 | ||
| Soweto Panthers | 1986 | 1994 | |
| Tshwane Suns | 1996 | ||
| Western Cape Mountaineers | 2013 | ||
Former teams
| Team | Location | Founded | Joined | Last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Town Tigers | Cape Town | 2019 | 2023 | |
| Eastern Cape Windbreakers | 2012 | 2023 | ||
List of champions
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Finals score |
Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | KwaZulu Marlins | ||||
| 1998–2006 | Inactive | ||||
| 2007 | Soweto Panthers | KwaZulu Marlins | 79–78 | Mandeville Indoor Center, Johannesburg | [4] |
| 2008–2012 | Inactive | ||||
| 2013 | Tshwane Suns | Mbombela Wildcats | 79–68 | Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg | [5] |
| 2014 | Tshwane Suns (2) | Duzi Royals | 65–60 | [11] | |
| 2015 | Egoli Magic | Duzi Royals | 2–1 (series) | [12] | |
| 2016 | Egoli Magic (2) | Tshwane Suns | 62–47 | [13] | |
| 2017 | Tshwane Suns (3) | Egoli Magic | 58–51 | [14] | |
| 2018 | Soweto Panthers | Egoli Magic | 84–58 | [15] | |
| 2019 | Egoli Magic (3) | Soweto Panthers | 59–55 | [16] | |
| 2020–21 | Egoli Magic (4) | Soweto Panthers | 85–67 | [17] | |
| 2021 | Egoli Magic (5) | Tshwane Suns | 53–39 | [18] | |
| 2022 | Tshwane Suns (4) | Western Cape Mountaineers | 66–62 | [19] | |
| 2023 | Cape Town Tigers | Tshwane Suns | 85–60 | Mandeville Indoor Center, Johannesburg | [20] |
| 2024 | KwaZulu Marlins | Mpumalanga Rhinos | 2–0 (series) | [21] | |
| 2025 | Egoli Magic (6) | Tshwane Suns | Game 1
67-70 Game 2 60-55 (series) |
||
Performance by team
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egoli Magic | 5 | 2 | 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020–21, 2021 | 2017, 2018 |
| Tshwane Suns | 4 | 2 | 2013, 2014, 2017, 2022 | 2016, 2021, 2023 |
| KwaZulu Marlins | 2 | 1 | 1997, 2024 | 2007 |
| Soweto Panthers | 2 | 0 | 2007, 2018 | 2019, 2020–21 |
| Cape Town Tigers | 1 | — |
2023 | — |
| Duzi Royals | — |
2 | — |
2014, 2015 |
| Mbombela Wildcats | — |
1 | — |
2013 |
| Western Cape Mountaineers | — |
1 | — |
2022 |
Individual awards
MVP and Final MVP
| Season | MVP | Final MVP | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Neo Mothiba (Panthers) | [4] | |
| 2013 | Neo Mothiba (Suns) | [5] | |
| 2014 |  Tichifara Mabiza (Suns) | [22] | |
| 2015 |  Jose Salvador (Egoli) | ||
| 2017 | Stephen Gabriel (Suns) | [23] | |
| 2018 |  Tatenda Maturure (Soweto) | ||
| 2019 | Bandile Nsele (Egoli) | [24] | |
| 2020–21 |  Miguel Ferrão (Egoli) |
Lehlogonolo Tholo (Soweto) |
[25] |
| 2021 |  Emmanuel Shine (Suns) |
Nkosinathi Sibanyoni (Suns) |
[26] |
| 2022 | Emmanuel Shine (Suns) |
Kagiso Ngoetjana (Suns) |
[27] |
| 2023 | Emmanuel Shine (Suns) |
Nkosinathi Sibanyoni (Tigers) |
[28] |
| 2024 | Sifiso Gininda (Marlins) |
Sifiso Gininda (Marlins) |
